The Pittsburgh Steelers are coming off an infuriating loss in dramatic fashion to the Cincinnati Bengals. After the offense effortlessly put up 31 points on the road in a short week, fans are pointing the finger at the defense for allowing 33 points to a 40-year-old Joe Flacco in his second-ever game with Cincy.
Pittsburgh's defense was lifeless in Week 7. They allowed Flacco to carve them up for 342 yards and three touchdowns through the air. But it was the egregious inability to cover superstar wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase that drew the most buzz after the game.
Pittsburgh's cornerbacks struggled mightily against Chase and routinely let the NFL's best receiver cross their face for routine quick slants. Somehow, Mike Tomlin's game plan to stop Chase might not have been the worst coaching decision this team made on Thursday Night Football.
The Steelers struggled to generate quick pressure throughout the night. A comfortable Flacco had no issue delivering the ball on time. Needing a stop on the final drive, Pittsburgh couldn't get pressure quick enough, and the Bengals were able to march the ball down the field.
T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith collectively recorded a mere five pressures on 70 pass rush snaps, per Pro Football Focus. The worst part about all of this is that the Steelers refused to play their best pass rusher: Nick Herbig.
The Pittsburgh Steelers' baffling decision to keep Nick Herbig on the bench proved costly
Nick Herbig was coming off the best game of his NFL career in Week 6, in which the 2023 fourth-round pick earned two sacks, four quarterback hits, a defended pass, and six pressures. This elite performance against the Cleveland Browns led to an outstanding 94.8 overall grade from PFF.
But despite Herbig's dominance in Week 6, Tomlin refused to put him on the field in a must-have game in Week 7.
After leading the team in snaps against the Browns (50 total), Herbig recorded just 29 snaps against the Cincinnati Bengals (20 pass rush snaps). This was mind-blowing, considering Watt and Highsmith were struggling and having issues getting after the quarterback.
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Still, in his limited action, Herbig earned just one fewer snap than Highsmith and Watt did all game combined. Herbig also earned a team-high 90.4 grade for his performance against the Bengals.
For whatever reason, Tomlin refused to play his best pass rusher against the Bengals—especially when it mattered most in the fourth quarter. This was as egregious a coaching decision as we've seen from this team in 2025.
Herbig is a budding star with game-wrecking pass rush ability, but he was never given the opportunity to get going in the shootout loss to the Bengals. At this point, he should be playing as many snaps as any edge rusher on the team (Watt included). If this happens again, the Steelers' fanbase might stage a mutiny against Mike Tomlin.